The Parents Who Lived
by The Voices in my Head and I
Summary: Lily and James are sending their son Harry off to his first year at Hogwarts!
1. Chapter 1

**This idea came to me at about 2 am a few weeks ago. Hope you like it!**

**And yes, I DO own Harry Potter... NOT!**

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><p>"Lily," complains James to his wife, "You know I am not fond of driving a Muggle car. Can we not just apparate to the station?"<p>

"Oh James! I'm just trying to give Harry the full experience of being sent off to school for the first time; looking out the back of the car and seeing the house for the last time, all the trouble of getting his trunk in and out of the car. It's all so special," Lily says to her husband, holding his hand and looking at him with those green eyes that were a drug to him.

"Fine Lily, but I'm not going to be able to drive that car without _any_ magic," he says, getting the last word he always had to have.

"Harry, dear, are you ready to go?" Lily calls up the staircase to her young son's bedroom. Today he would be going to his first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,he had been looking forward to this day since he got his letter from the school. Harry had been packing, unpacking and repacking his trunk for weeks, trying to make sure he got everything he needed.

"I'm coming, Mum! " Harry replies as he drags his trunk to the top of the staircase. He is already dressed in his school robes and has his wand in his hands. "Dad, will you fly my trunk down? I love to see you do that!"

James of course obliges, as Harry watches in awe as his trunk hovers over the steps and lands with a soft thud by the front door. He runs down the stairs after it and asks his parents, "When I get back at the end of the year, will I be able to do that?"

"I'm sure of it, Harry!" says James, messing up the hair on his son's head. "But, dear," his mother objects as she fixes the hair her husband just disheveled, "you will be coming back to see us at Christmas, won't you?"

"Of course, Mum!" her son reassures her, "And I will miss you so much until then! But I can't miss you until I am gone, so let's go!" Harry grabs his mum by the hand and runs out the door.

"Before we leave, your father and I have some things to give you," Lily tells him as she leads him back into the house. She then goes into the coat closet and pulls out a cage containing an owl the color of snow. "We thought you could use a friend on your first year at school."

"She's wonderful! Thank you Mum," exclaims Harry as he hugs his mum around the waist. He looks curiously at the bird before him, poking his fingers through the cage and touching her soft feathers. "Does she have a name?"

"Not yet, dear. You may call her whatever you want," his mother tells him.

"Well, what do you think I shall call her?" Harry ponders, as he doesn't really know what you would call an owl.

"Gwendolyn," "Poppy," "Snow," "Arabella," his parents suggest, but none of them seemed to be the proper name for his owl. She will be a strong bird, Harry knows, and she needs a name to fit.

"Hedwig," Harry says surely as he nods his small head, "She will be called Hedwig."

"And a Hedwig she will be," James tells his son, patting him on the back, "And now for my gift to you, son. When I went off to my first year at Hogwarts, my father gave me this, and my grandfather gave it to him before that," he says as he summons a large cloak, "I think you'll like it."

"What is it?" Harry questions as he unfolds the bundle. He holds out the large cloak in front of him wondering what use he could have now of a cloak that was much too big for him. Sure, it would keep him very warm, and it was once his great grandfather's. But why was his father giving it to him now?

His father chuckles and tells him to put it on. Harry does so; still not quite understanding what was going on. He fumbles with the large cloak, struggling to get it all over his head and get his arms through the correct holes, but when he does he holds out his arms, examining himself. "I am invisible! Is the cloak doing that!" Harry exclaims as he looks over all the limbs of his body.

"Yes, Harry! It's my Invisibility Cloak! It's very old, and the best invisibility cloak I have yet to see. But, if you are going to take it with you to school, you have to keep it a secret," James warns his son. He helped Harry take the large cloak off and pack it into his trunk, laughing as he does so and patting his son on the back, "And don't cause trouble with it," he added playfully.

"That's all your father did with it when we were at Hogwarts," Lily says, joking with her husband and son, "Oh, Harry! I just cannot believe you are already going off to Hogwarts! I'm going to miss you so much."

"I will miss you too, Mum. And I promise to write every day and not get into any trouble!" Harry reassures he mother, "Now _let's go_!"

And with that Harry, Lily and James walk out the front door of their home and load Harry's trunk in the back of the Muggle car they are taking to King's Cross Station. Harry keeps Hedwig in the back seat next to him and looks at her and pets her most of the car ride. He makes up a few spells and waves his wand in ways he has seen his father do in the past. "Dad, what is a spell I can do?" Harry asks his father, eager to do real magic.

"Umm," James replies as he thinks, "Say 'Lumos' and flick your wand." Harry tries what his father told him and is amazed when the end of his wand began to glow like a flashlight!

"Woah. I love magic!" Harry says, awestruck by his own ability. He looks out the window of the car to see a young Muggle girl staring, slightly frightened, at Harry holding a stick that seemed to be glowing or on fire. Lily notices and tells him to say "Nox" and put his wand away!

"Muggles can't see you use magic, dear, or the secret of magic will get out and, well, it won't be as… magical anymore," Lily tells her son. They continue driving for a few minutes, Harry quietly petting Hedwig's feathers in the backseat, then James tells his son to look out the window, "There it is, Harry: King's Cross Station."

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><p><strong>REVIEWS PLEASE! The good and the bad, it helps me become a better writer! Check back soon for chapter 2!<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry, but my attention span is too short for me to write (or read, for that matter) anything much longer than this. I am also sorry that it takes me so long to upload anything. Well, ENJOY!**

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><p>Harry climbs out of the backseat of the car and his eyes widen at the sight before him. King's Cross Station is very loud and busy; these are the first to things Harry notices. There are lots of people shouting, trains whistling, and mothers pulling their children along behind them. It is a lot of excitement to take in, and Harry loves it.<p>

"Come along, now," Lily tells her son after she and James have loaded his trunk and Hedwig's cage onto a cart. Harry pushes his trunk through the entrance of the station and follows his parents through the sea of people. Many people give him odd looks, because why would he be wearing long robes and have an owl cage in a train station? But Harry doesn't mind, he is too excited to go to Hogwarts to care about Muggles judging him.

"May I see my ticked?" Harry asks as he looks around to see if there were any other wizard children to follow, but he doesn't notice any. James hands his son his ticket and Harry studies it for a moment. London to Hogwarts; One way; Platform 9 ¾.

Harry studies the ticket, reading it over a few times. Platform Nine _and Three Quarters_; could it be true? He looks up curiously at his father through his round glasses and bright green eyes, "But Dad, there must be a mistake," questions Harry as he wonders how on Earth he will get to school when his ticket is for a train that he cannot get to. "This says Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. There's no such thing… is there?" But before James can respond, a short, plump woman with bright red hair begins shouting for her children ahead of them, catching Harry's attention.

"It's the same every year; packed with Muggles, of course! Come on! Platform Nine and Three-Quarters this way. All right, Percy; you first!" A boy a few years older than Harry, Percy, he assumes, then starts pushing his cart at the brick wall between platforms nine and ten. Rather than crashing into the wall, as one might assume he would, Percy and his things went _through the wall!_ Harry's face lights up and he looks up at him mum with a smile on his face. He goes with his parents to where the red-headed woman is standing, and waits for his turn. "Fred, you next," she tells her children before looking to see who is behind her as her twin sons josh about which one of them is _actually_ Fred and who is George.

"Molly! Oh, how are you?" exclaims Lily as she sees her old friend for the first time in a while.

"Oh, hello there Lily! James. And who is this young boy?"

"Hello Molly," says James plainly, not being very interested in his wife's friend.

Lily gives her husband a looks that tells his not to be so rude, but quickly returns her attention to Mrs. Weasley. "This is our son Harry. He's going off to his first year at Hogwarts," Lily tells her while putting her arms around Harry's shoulders.

"It's Ron's first year too! Who knows, you might be in the same house," she says, this time to Harry. She turns back to her children, a boy about Harry's age (most likely Ron) and a girl a little smaller than the two boys, both with bright red hair. "Ron, go on now. Don't be nervous," Molly tells him. Ron takes a deep breath and starts at the brick wall, succeeding in passing through. Molly takes her daughter's hand and they follow the boys to the platform.

"How about you give it a go, Harry," James tells his son, looking into his eyes, communicating to him that everything will be okay, and Harry has nothing to be nervous about.

Harry prepares himself, looks back at his parents with a big smile, takes a deep breath and tells them, "Okay."

"Just relax and run right into the wall. There is no way you can get hurt."

"We'll be right through," Lilly reassures her son before he closes his eyes and plunges into the wall, traveling to the magical world. When Harry reopens his eyes he sees the scarlet steam engine and a crowd of wizards and witches before him. He takes a few steps forward, taking in his surroundings when suddenly he is picked up by someone from behind and spun in a circle.

"Ahh! Let me go!" Harry shouts, flinging his arms. When he is let down, he looks up to see who attacked him: Uncle Sirius. "You shouldn't have scared me like that!" Harry shouted at his uncle through his laughter.

"You didn't think I was going to let my god-son go off to his first year at Hogwarts without saying goodbye, did ya? I'm going to miss you, kiddo," his uncle told him before wrapping his arms around Harry is a big hug.

When Sirius lets him go, Harry's parents are standing beside him again. "I'm going to miss you all so much," he tells his family as he gives his parents a large hug.

"We'll miss you do, love," Lily says before kissing her son on the forehead. She takes him in front of her and looks lovingly into his eyes. "Write us as soon as you get settles and sorted into your house!"

"I will, mum. I really hope I'm in Gryffindor!"

Sirius chuckles, "We might disown you if you're not!" Harry looks up at him with worry in his eyes, making Sirius and James begin laughing.

"We'll love you no matter what house you get placed in," Lily reassures him as she gives Sirius an annoyed look for telling her sin such a thing.

James puts his arm around Harry's shoulder, giving him a tight squeeze. "Of course we will, son! But, you better get in Gryffindor," he tells him jokingly. The train gave a loud whistle, signaling that it would be leaving in 10 minutes. "You better get on there and find a good seat!"

Harry pushes takes his things to the train, but before getting on, he gives everyone one last hug and tells them how much he will miss them all one last time. He pulls his trunk on the train and as the train begins pulling away, he looks out the window, finding his family and waving goodbye. Lily blows him a kiss and James and Sirius wave goodbye until, finally Harry can't see them anymore. As The end of the train disappears from their view, James takes Lily's hand and lightly kisses her temple. As the people begin to wither away, James and Lily watch where the train once was and Sirius goes off to talk to some old friends he hasn't seen in quite a while.

"Well," James says after a few minutes of silence, "I guess he's gone."

"I guess he is," Lily says quietly.

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><p><strong>Hope you liked it! Up next: The Hogwarts Express!<strong>


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